Steering mechanism



Sept. 1, 1931.

J. A. WRIGHT 1,821,458

STEERING MECHANISM Filed `Apr11 29. 1929 2 sheets-sheet 1 Y /N VENTOR. IHMES H. WM 16H7'.

Sept. l, 1931.l J., A WRlGHT 1,821,458

STEERING MECHANI SM Filed April 29, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 LEFrwuEEL l L `R g RIGHT WNEEL INVENTOR. .TIMES A. WRIGHT ..40 drawings, in which:

Patented sept. 1, 1931 UNITED `sfI'ATEs :rms A. WRIGHT, or MONTREAL, QUEBEC, camina' STEERING MEGHANISM Application led April 29,

This invention relates to the steering mechanism of motor vehicles and particularly to means for the differential control of the wheels in the operation of turning the vehicle. 1 i

The object of the invention is to provide improved means for steering motor vehicles, whereby the wheels, in turning the vehicle, are pivoted at differential angles, and are directed to the true direction of their relative paths of travel.

A further object, i durable and more eilicient means of controlling the pivoting of the steering wheels,

in order tov secure greater safety, smoother runnlng of the vehicle, the mlnimum stresses on the chassis, greater flexibility in turning, and also to prevent skidding and shimmy.

Hitherto, it has been the practice in steering a motorl vehicle, to ivot both front wheels at the same angle'w en turning, with the result that one of them was not dlrected to travel on its true curve. of movement, and a certain amount of side-slippage hadto take place. In pivoting wheels coupled in aral e1, the inner wheel on turning is the 1rection controlling wheel,l while the outer, wheel is a follower which is out of alignment with its travel curve, being directed at an angle inwardly across its path of travel, and it is therefore obliggd to side-slip in following that ath.

By means of t 's invention, however', each wheel is pivoted differentially to direct it to travel on its own radial ath, with the result that each is a guiding w eel and maintains perfect road gri durin the turnin movement, and side-shppage 1s eliminate Reference is made to the accompanying Figure 1 is a 1an view of the device. .Figure 2 is a ont view of the same; Figure 3 is a detail side view of the linkage.

Figure 4 is a diagram of\Figure 2. Figure 5 is a complementary diagram. Figure 6 is a cross section of the bearing of the transverse shaft.

In Figure 1 the side channels. 1 and 10 kof the chassis frame are shown. with the -arm 40, outside the channel 1. A turnto provide a. simple,

1929. Serial No. 359,008.

steering gear 2 and bearing 21 of its shaft 2O mounted on' the side channel 1.- The steering lever 3, keyed on the outer end of the shaft 20, has a lever arm 30 at right an les to it, forming a bell-crank lever.

i transverse Y shaft 42 is journalled in bearings 43 on each side channel 1 and 10, and has keyed to its ends, the steering level 4, outside the channel 10, and the lever buckle 5, with forked ends and an intermediate adjustment nut 50, links the ends of the lever arms 30 and 40.

A drag link 31 connects the steering lever 3 with the steering knuckle 60 on the hub of the wheel 6. A similar drag link 41v connects the steering lever 4 with the steerin knuckle of the wheel 7.

he wheels 6 and 7 are pivoted free from hindrance to se arate control and are preferably indepen entlysprung.

In Figure 3 is shown the ad]ustable linkage between the shaft 20 and the transverse shaft 42 and the normal setting of the steering levers 3 and 4. The lever 3 is keyed on'the shaft 20 to hang downwards at an angle of about 20 to the rear, whlle the lever 4 is keyed to the shaft 42 to project upwards at the same angle to the rear. The turnbuckle 5 links ,the lever arms 30 and 40 normally in parallel.

. Referring now to the diagram Figure 4, when A, which represents the end, of the steering lever 3, is moved forward ast the vertical to A, B moves rearwar to B', the sa'me angular distance but a shorten horizontal distance, as shown in Figure 5 where L represents the left hand turn of the vehicle. `The reverse is the case when A ris moved backwards to A2 and B moves forward4 past the vertical to B2, asshown in Figure 5, where R represents the right hand turn of the vehicle. There is therefore a differential variation between the horizontal movements of the ends of the two steering angle of 35 outwards, at the same time the drag link 41 Will move backward and make the Wheel 7 pivot inwards but only to an angle of 27 1X2". The same result will occur in proportion during shorter operations of the steering gear.

Now in turning a vehicle, the outer Wheel must travel on a much larger arc than that of the inner Wheel, and therefore the outer Wheel requires to pivot less to follow its path on that arc. i

With each Wheel correctly set to follow its own arc when turning the vehicle, there Will be no side slippage and each Wheel will maintain a perfect road grip. This Will improve the Asteering control, and thereby provide increased safety, While owing to the elimination of side slippage, the Wear yon the tires will be reduced. As with this invention each Wheel is a steering Wheel, even in the event of one of them becoming loose, steering control would still be preserved through the other Wheel.

It is obvious that this system of steering control could be readily applied to the rear Wheels as Well as to the front Wheels,

What I claim is l. In a steering mechanism for motor vehicles, a steering gear, a steering lever operated thereby, a second steering lever mounted on the end of a transverse shaft journalled in the side members of the chassis frame, on the opposite sidethereof, a lever on the end of said shaft adjacent the first steering lever and an adjustable linkage between the first steering lever and the adjacent lever on the transverse shaft adapted to rotate the steering levers voppositely and to exert by them differential pivoting of the steering Wheels.

2. In a steering mechanism for motor vehicles, a steering gear, a steering lever operated thereby in the form of a bell crank lever, a turnbuckle coupling tothe bell crank lever, al lever arm coupled to the turned buckle mounted on the end of a transverse shaft journalled in the side members of the chassis trame, a steering lever on the other end of the shaft outside the frame, and drag links connecting the steering levers with the stering knuckles of their respective steering u' eels.

3. In a steering mechanism for motor vehicles, adapted to provide differential pivoting of the steering Wheels, a steering gear, steering levers pivoted on separate varies on each side ofthe chassis frame,ihav

ling connecting linkage,normally set at an equal angle from the vertical through their axes, and operated by the steering gear, the one to rotate towards its vertical and the other to rotate away from its vertical, and means to adjust the set of steering levers.

JAMES A. WRIGHT.Y 

